Nigeria: Celtel International Sets Foot in Nigeria
Celtel has unveiled its brand in Nigeria after acquiring Vmobile, one of the top telecom companies in the country, for $1.005b.
“The event is celebration of a new dawn in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry,” Gamaliel Onosode, the board chairman, said during the launch recently.
“The promise of making life better is a business philosophy practised by Celtel,” Onosode said in a statement.
Marten Pieters, the chief executive officer of Celtel International, said, “Nigeria is an important market for a serious telecommunications operator. Celtel has taken Nigeria seriously from the days of the licence auction. We also tried to acquire Nitel, but the more attractive option of Vmobile proved too tantalising to be ignored.”
Source- http://allafrica.com
Technorati : Celtel, Mobile, Nigeria
Ice Rocket : Celtel, Mobile, Nigeria
Sub-USD 22 buzz on BSNL mobile
New Delhi, Sept. 18: State-owned telephony major Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) is preparing to break a major price barrier by coming out with a bundled telecom offer – handset with a cellular connection – at less than Rs 1,000 (approx USD 22)
BSNL’s sub-1000 offer could ignite a war in a new battle zone: the rural heartland.
“Nokia and Motorola are among the list of companies who are willing to offer handsets priced below Rs 1,000 a piece,” said a senior official at BSNL.
Confirming the development, Lloyd Mathias, director (marketing) at Motorola India Pvt Ltd, said, “We are part of the panel in discussion with BSNL to offer low-cost handsets. But the exact cost of the handset, the features included and the consumer offer has yet to be decided.”
But there is a caveat: Mathias said the cost of technology doesn’t make it possible to make a sub-Rs 1,000 handset. “If such an offer is made, the subsidy given on the handset will have to be borne by the service provider,” he added.
Analysts said semi-conductor companies like Germany-based Infineon and Netherlands-based Philips Semiconductors have created single chip technologies that can help mobile manufaturers produce basic handsets with voice and simple messaging capability for Rs 1,000 or less.
“The technology is in place. It is only a matter of working out a favourable cost structure to enable the successful creation of a sub-Rs 1,000 handset,” said Sudipto Basu, an independent telecom analyst.
At present, the cheapest bundled option is provided by Hutch, which offers a connection with a Motorola C115 handset at Rs 1,399.
Idea’s bundled offer includes a new connection with free talktime for one year, one-year validity and a handset with basic SMS and voice telephony services – all at a low cost of Rs 1,465; Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices offer bundled schemes in a similar range of Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,700.
“BSNL’s sub Rs 1,000 bundled scheme would be a market clincher in this highly competitive, cost conscious mobile segment,” said Basu.
BSNL is all set to provide this low-cost offer to its customers as soon as “formalities with handset manufaturers are complete”.
“We are evaluating all the options given by handset manufacturers for sub-Rs 1,000 handsets, and would finalise a suitable offer for our customers soon,” said BSNL officials.
According to the Cellular Operators Association of India, India is the fastest-growing cellular market in the world, adding a net 5.9 million cellular subscribers in August.
“There’s a great demand for mobile phones in all sections of society, especially in the largely untapped rural market. Hence, service providers and handset manufacturers are offering low-cost handsets to penetrate the cost- conscious rural telephony arena,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, president of Indian Cellular Association.
Source- http://www.telegraphindia.com
Technorati : BSNL, India, Mobile
Ice Rocket : BSNL, India, Mobile
Mobile problems to linger: Vodafone
VODAFONE says its customers will continue to experience some disruptions to their mobile phone service for the rest of the week.
Vodafone’s acting managing director and chief finance officer Pradeep Lal said almost all services were back to normal following the successful crossover from the old exchange to the new one over the weekend.
In a paid advertisement, the company said due to the on-going work on the new exchange, disruptions could be experienced during the week.
“Customers are advised that at certain times you may not be able to access all Vodafone services.
“This includes the ability to make calls from pre-pay phones, check account balances and or top up your talk time, send text messages as well as roaming and voicemail services, it said.
The company said engineers from Fiji, Australia and the United Kingdom were working around the clock to ensure all services were normalised as soon as possible.
It said customers would be kept informed on the progress of the work.
Mr Lal said moving to a new exchange was like putting together a 1000-piecejigsaw puzzle.
“So bit by bit each product or service is moved across while trying to ensure minimum disruption of services to the customer, he said
Source- http://www.fijitimes.com
Iraq invites bidders for mobile phone licenses
Iraq will be offering new tenders for licenses to operate mobile phones in the country after the existing licenses expire, an Associated Press report said.Three companies currently operate in Iraq: Iraqna, AsiaCell, and Atheer.
The report quoted Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, as saying that a committee had been formed to review the bids.
It was not clear, however, when the tender would be offered.
Iraqi officials had not specified how much the new contracts would be worth, or given details on the exact timing of the tender announcement, the report said.
Iraqna, a subsidiary of the Egyptian firm Orascom Telecommunications, a major regional communications company, mainly operates in central Iraq and has 2.5 million active subscribers.
Its contract would expire September 30, and the company confirmed it was interested in bidding for the tender, the report said.
Atheer, the Iraqi unit of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications, operates in southern Iraq and AsiaCell operates in the country’s northern part.
Officials at both companies could not be reached to provide details of when their contracts would expire, the report said.
Iraqna was first awarded the license to operate in Iraq in October 2003 after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and its commercial launch in December of that year marked the first time mobile phones were used in Baghdad, the report said.
Source- http://www.americasnetwork.com
Technorati : AsiaCell, Atheer, Iraq, Iraqna, Mobile
Ice Rocket : AsiaCell, Atheer, Iraq, Iraqna, Mobile
